Coming off a season in which he tied for the NFL high with 19 interceptions Tony Romo said Wednesday his top priority this season will be to protect the football.

The Dallas Cowboys quarterback’s interception total also matched a career high. He threw four interceptions in a 29-24 October loss to the New York Giants who the Cowboys host Sunday night.

“My job is going to be to protect the football” Romo said. “That’s my No. 1 job going into every game. And I’m going to do the job that this team needs to win the game. That’s what we’re trying to do every week when we play and that’s my job when I step out there.”

Romo’s three interceptions in the win-or-go-home season finale against Washington last year doomed the Cowboys to another 8-8 season and extended their playoff drought to three seasons. In the last 22 games in which he’s committed a turnover Dallas is 7-15 a statistic reported Wednesday by the Dallas Morning News.

Romo said it’s also his job to make sure the Cowboys are “not having anything negatively happen.”

“When I say that it’s not just turnovers” he said. “It’s negative plays getting us into the right plays and doing the things that can get us out of other things.”